Where to Get Beer Here (part 1): San Antonio Downtown Brew Pubs

When we asked experienced international walker (and Texas Trail Roundup vice president) Pat Heller what the overseas walkers would want to know about she had a one word answer: beer. Our insurers won’t let us offer alcoholic beverages at the checkpoints, but there’s nothing to say you can’t stop for a SMALL sip — or two — along the way. There are five downtown brew pubs — beer is brewed on the premises — that are either on a walk route or really close by:

Alamo Beer Company (202 Lamar) is a $8 million, 18,000-square foot brewery, beer hall, and beer garden just celebrated its second anniversary in its space just a few blocks east of downtown under the historic Hays Street Bridge. Owner Eugene Simorhas been brewing Alamo beer since 1997, selling out of the back of his wife’s minivan before opening this full-scale brewery. Food is provided by food trucks and there’s usually a DJ. They sell four bottled beer in stores and have them on tap here: a golden ale, a pilsner, a German style pale ale and an amber lager. In February, their seasonal beer will be a dopplebock . It’s only open four days a week: Thursday from 3-9PM; Friday from 3PM until midnight; Saturday noon-midnight and Sunday noon-9PM. Brewery tours are available. You’ll pass close by on the Sunday walks; it’s just north of downtown, about six blocks east of the Riverwalk.

A San Antonio staple since 1996, Blue Star Brewing Company (1414 S. Alamo) makes its home in the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown, one of the city’s hottest art, food, and entertainment districts. They generally have 10 beers on tap, all made with 100% organic ingredients. They are open 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM on Sunday, when the Saturday walks will stroll by, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

Freetail Brewing Company‘s new modern brewery and tasting room opened in Southtown (2000 S. Presa) in the Fall of 2014; it’s been operating in a “Loopland” location for seven years. The brewery is named after the Mexican free-tailed bat, the official flying mammal of Texas. No food here (unless a food truck magically appears, which it often does) but plenty of beer in the largest taproom in the city. They offer tours every Saturday at 3 & 5 PM. They are open Thursdays – Fridays 4pm – 9pm; Saturdays 12pm – 10pm; Sundays 12pm – 6pm. You’ll pass within a few blocks of the Tasting Room on the Saturday walks.

Housed in the historic family home of the original Pearl Brewery’s chief cooper (602 Avenue A), the Granary ‘Cue & Brew has an outdoor deck as well as an inside dining area and a menu filled with Texas barbecue, house-made pickles, sandwiches, and more. In addition to brewing innovative beers, they also make their own nonalcoholic sodas. They are closed on Sunday (alas, when the Sunday walks pass by The Pearl) but are open at 11:00 AM the rest of the week and close at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery (136 E. Grayson) opened a 15-barrel brew house last April, featuring six serving tanks and a Firkin barrel aging program, in the original brew house of San Antonio’s iconic Pearl Brewery. The food is southern comfort food with a coastal twist. You will walk past it on Sunday’s walks: Open Mon-Wed: 11am-11pm; Thu-Fri: 11am-12am; Sat: 10am-12am and Sun: 10am-4pm.